The History Show

DO YOU HAVE A RELATIVE WHO FOUGHT IN GALLIPOLI?

Close to 15,000 Irishmen fought in Gallipoli during World War I. Almost 4,000 of these soldiers died. Three quarters of the fatalities served in the Volunteer 10th (Irish) Division. This is a staggering fatality rate of almost 27%.

Do you have an ancestor who fought with the Australian forces at Gallipoli?

We’d like to include your stories in our special Gallipoli centenary programme in April. PleaseEmail: history@rte.ie

Keywords:

Share:

Raising The Red Flag Over The Rotunda

There's been a lot of talk about our sense of resignation in the face of austerity, rising job losses and apparently unending cutbacks. While the Greeks and others have been out on the streets making a lot of noise, we've been staying at home taking it all on the chin. But we weren't always like that you know! Two days after the foundation of the Free State, on this very weekend in 1922, there was a dramatic expression of class anger complete with a red flag flag flying over a public building in Dublin city centre.

Five years after the Russian Revolution, a large group of unemployed workers seized control of the building that's now the Gate Theatre. They raised the scarlet banner high in protest against what they said was the apathy of the authorities in the face of rising unemployment. It was one of the more bizarre events of the Irish revolutionary period as we heard a piece which was written by historian Donal Fallon and read by David Herlihy.

Donal Fallon along with Sam McGrath and Ciaran Murray is the author of Come Here to Me! Dublin's Other History (New Island)

Keywords:

Share:

Historical Us Presidential Inaugurations

Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States at a ceremony in Washington tomorrow. The official theme will be Faith in America's Future to mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Deputy Editor of The Irish Times, Denis Staunton who will be at tomorrow's ceremony came in talk about some notable past inaugurations - among them, that of William Henry Harrison, the man who has the dual distinction of giving the longest inaugural speech and spending the shortest term in office. He also talked about Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, among others.

Keywords:

Share:

Gallipoli 100

The History Show and the organisers of the annual Hay Literary Festival in Kells have joined forces, to launch a commemorative event "Gallipoli 100", marking the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the ill-fated WW1 Dardanelles campaign. All events will take place in the Church of Ireland, Cannon St, Kells. It will run from the 24th to the 26th of April 2015, the centenary of the first landings by troops on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.

The three-day programme of events will commence on the evening of Friday, 24th April with the Francis Ledwidge Memorial Lecture, delivered by the distinguished Irish WW1 historian Philip Orr.

Click on the links below to view or download more information, and a draft schedule of events.

About The Show

Bringing the past to life! Discover how our world was shaped as Myles Dungan and guests explore events ranging from medieval times to the recent past.

We want to help explain ourselves to ourselves. We will search out fresh angles on familiar topics, seek out the unfamiliar and will not shy away from bizarre or controversial issues. Our ultimate goal is to make The History Show the primary port of call for those with an intense or even a modest interest in the subject. We want to entice the casual and the curious to join us in celebrating the past.